Paragraphs One of the most important aspects of producing effective writing is knowing how to: create a paragraph

1. Paragraphs • Paragraphs • One of the most important aspects of producing effective writing is knowing how to: • create a paragraph • organise individual paragraphs into meaningful and logical sequences to create a coherent piece of writing • Paragraphs combine sequences of sentences into a coherent, single idea. They enable you to: • create a logical structure for you to organise and convey your meaning • provide the necessary detail to ensure that the meaning of your idea is accessible • alert your reader to shifts from one major idea to the next • guide your reader through the steps of your argument or story • Thus paragraphs are the basic building blocks of most forms of your writing.

2. Paragraphs • All paragraphs have similar features, though there are some exceptions. Paragraphs usually consist of three parts: • a topic sentence • 2-3 supporting sentences • a concluding sentence • Most of the problems students have with paragraphing arise because: • more than one major idea is being presented within the paragraph • the supporting sentences do not relate to and hence do not support the topic sentence • paragraphs do not relate to each other

3. Paragraphs TIP TOP START A NEW PARAGRAPH WHEN THERE’S A CHANGE IN… Ti P To P TIme Person TOpic Place

4. Paragraphs START A NEW PARAGRAPH WHEN… You move to a new period in time AFTER THE PARTY / THAT EVENING TIme You move to a different place THE ROAD WAS ICY / IN THE DISCO Person TOpic You move to a new topic or point ANOTHER REASON FOR MY VIEW IS… Place You bring in a new person or change from one person to another (especially in conversations) I HEARD A VOICE IN THE DISTANCE

5. Paragraphs WHEN YOU WRITE A NEW PARAGRAPH YOU MUST CONSIDER… P E E • a topic sentence • 2-3 supporting sentences • a concluding sentence The structure of the paragraph: • Correct punctuation (full stops / capital letters /commas /question marks) • Correct grammar • (word order / choice of vocabulary) • Correct style • (formal / serious / entertaining) The quality of the paragraph:

6. Correction Exercise We are going to look at an extract from The Iron Man, by Ted Hughes. All the capital letters, speech marks, full stops and commas are missing, and there are no paragraph breaks. • Your task is to put all these in the correct place: • Add the punctuation clearly. • Use 66 and 99 speech marks to “open and close” speech • Use the two lines to show a paragraph break

7. The Iron Man stood up straight. Slowly he turned, till he was looking directly at Hogarth. “We’re sorry we trapped you and buried you,” shouted the little boy. “We promise we’ll not deceive you again. Follow us and you can have all the metal you want. Brass too. Aluminium too. And lots of chrome. Follow us.”The Iron Man pushed aside the boughs and came into the lane. Hogarth joined the farmers. Slowly they drove back down the lane, and slowly, with all his cogs humming, the Iron Man stepped after them.They led through the villages. Half the people came out to stare, half ran to shut themselves inside bedrooms and kitchens. Nobody could believe their eyes when they saw the Iron Man marching behind the farmers.At last they came to the town, and there was a great scrap-metal yard. Everything was there, old cars by the hundred, old trucks, old railway engines, old stoves, old refrigerators, old springs, bedsteads, bicycles, girders, gates, pans – all the scrap iron of the region was piled up there, rusting away. from The Iron Man, Ted Hughes, Faber, 2001